A variety of medical procedures are performed to provide support to portions of a body of a patient. For example, some medical procedures are performed to treat various female pelvic dysfunctions, including procedures to treat urinary incontinence, and correcting various prolapse conditions such as uterine prolapse, cystoceles, rectoceles, and vaginal vault prolapse.
Women often experience vaginal prolapses due to age or other factors. For example, women may experience a cystocele, a rectocele and/or a hysterocele. A cystocele occurs when the bladder bulges into the vagina, and a rectocele occurs when the rectum bulges into the vagina. A hysterocele occurs when the uterus descends into the vagina. An enterocele (small bowel prolapse) can also occur, when the small bowel pushes through the upper wall of the vagina.
Treatments of such dysfunctions have included suturing procedures or the use of medical devices or implants for support or suspension of a portion of a body of a patient. Various devices and procedures are used to deliver and secure pelvic implants within a variety of different anatomical structures within a pelvic region. Medical devices or implants can be delivered to a pelvic region through one or more vaginal incisions, and/or through exterior incisions in the patient.
Existing implants differ in many ways including size, shape, material, number and location of straps, and in the method in which they are delivered and placed within a pelvic region. Additionally, depending on the particular condition to be treated and the medical device or implant used, pelvic floor repair can require various fixation locations within a pelvic region. For example, an implant can be secured using a number of anchors disposed at various fixation points.
It may be difficult to apply the correct tension to existing medical devices or implants during the implantation procedure. Additionally, it may be difficult to adjust the tension of existing medical devices or implants at a time after the completion of the implantation procedure. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a medical device or implant that facilitates tensioning of the medical device or implant both during the implantation procedure and at a time after the implantation procedure.